Relation of mercury exposure to elemental mercury levels in the urine and blood.
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The levels of elemental and inorganic mercury were measured in urine and blood samples from workers in thermometer manufacturing factories. The inorganic mercury levels in the urine did not correlate with the levels of mercury exposure for each worker. However, a significant correlation was noted between elemental mercury levels in the urine and the levels of individual exposure. A significant correlation was also found between elemental mercury levels in the urine and mercury levels in the blood. These findings suggest that the determination of elemental mercury in urine may serve as a useful indicator for assessing levels of recent exposure to mercury vapor, as well as the level of inorganic mercury in the blood.Keywords:
Mercury
Elemental mercury
MERCURY EXPOSURE
Mercury is a ubiquitous environmental toxin that causes a wide range of adverse health effects in humans. Three forms of mercury (elemental, inorganic, and organic) exist, and each has its own profile of toxicity. Exposure to mercury typically occurs by inhalation or ingestion. Readily absorbed after its inhalation, mercury can be an indoor air pollutant, for example, after spills of elemental mercury in the home; however, industry emissions with resulting ambient air pollution remain the most important source of inhaled mercury. Because fresh-water and ocean fish may contain large amounts of mercury, children and pregnant women can have significant exposure if they consume excessive amounts of fish. The developing fetus and young children are thought to be disproportionately affected by mercury exposure, because many aspects of development, particularly brain maturation, can be disturbed by the presence of mercury. Minimizing mercury exposure is, therefore, essential to optimal child health. This review provides pediatricians with current information on mercury, including environmental sources, toxicity, and treatment and prevention of mercury exposure.
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Mercury
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Vapor phase
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Mercury is not commonly considered a household air pollutant; however, a number of potential sources of the metal exist in residential settings. Eleven of 12 indoor sites sampled in this study showed levels of airborne mercury that were significantly elevated over outdoor concentrations (range 6.5−523 ng m-3). In addition, this and other published research suggest that up to 10% of households may have levels of airborne mercury above the U.S. EPA reference concentration (300 ng m-3) due to historic accidents with mercury containing devices. Exposure to mercury via indoor air is seen as second only to fish consumption as a source of mercury in the general population. Large seasonal changes in indoor mercury levels were identified in this study suggesting that short-term monitoring of mercury-contaminated sites is not sufficient to adequately assess the potential health risks and effectiveness of remediation strategies.
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Abstract A project was undertaken by the company to locate, quantify, and remove all mercury-contaminated equipment and elemental mercury from its global network of field and laboratory operational locations. The equipment and elemental mercury was shipped to prequalified vendors for equipment decontamination, mercury recovery, and purification with the aim of recycling the recovered mercury and decontaminated materials back into use.
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Mercury is one of the most toxic metals and occurs throughout the environment as a consequence of natural sources and human activity. Mercury species are broadly classified into three categories (the metallic form, also called the elemental form, the divalent inorganic forms, and organic mercury compounds), which have different toxicokinetic properties.The selection of biological media to assess human exposure depends on the mercury compounds, exposure pattern (e.g. chronic, acute) and time of sampling after the exposure. Exposure to elemental mercury is well represented by the presence of mercury in urine. Scalp hair has widely been used as a good indicator of methyl mercury exposure through the diet. As a biomarker of prenatal exposure, mercury in umbilical cord blood and not maternal blood is measured preferentially. In the blood, methyl mercury accumulates mainly in the red blood cells, while an exposure to elemental mercury leads to increased concentration of mercury in the plasma. Therefore, through the analysis of total mercury in these blood samples it is possible to differentiate between exposure to elemental and methyl mercury.Although the poisoning nature of mercury is well acknowledged, less known are the effects of mercury on humans as a consequence of long term exposure to low concentrations. In many cases the use of biomarkers, such as mercury concentrations in blood and urine, is not sufficient to assess the internal doses and potential effects on the central nervous system, kidney, the immune system, and other possible effects. Therefore, better scientific understanding of risks to human health, especially to those citizens living close to potentially contaminated sites and those exposed to low levels over a long period of time, is needed.
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In this investigation, the concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) and particulate bound mercury (PBM) in ambient air were measured at the Hung Kuang (traffic) sampling site during September 27 to October 6, 2014. An ambient air mercury collection system (AAMCS) was utilized to measure simultaneously PBM, GEM, and RGM concentrations in ambient air. The results thus obtained demonstrate that the mean concentrations of PBM, GEM, and RGM were 38.57 ± 11.4 (pg/m3), 17.67 ± 5.56 (ng/m3) and 10.78 ± 2.8 (pg/m3), respectively, at this traffic-sampling site. The mean GEM/PBM and GEM/RGM concentration ratios were 458 and 1639, respectively. The results obtained herein demonstrate that AAMCS can be utilized to collect three phases of mercury simultaneously. The mean PBM, GEM, and RGM concentrations herein were compared with others found in Asia, America, Europe and Antarctica. The mean PBM, GEM, and RGM concentrations were found to be lowest in Asia and Antarctica. The mean PBM concentration in Europe was approximately eight times that in this investigation. The mean GEM and RGM concentrations in this study were 1.21 and 170 times those found in the United States.
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